I. ST. MARK
- His childhood.
- His personality.
- Alexandria in the First Christian Century.
- St. Mark's arrival in Egypt.
- Propagation of the Faith.
- Mark's departure from Egypt.
- His return, and his writing of the Gospel.
- His martyrdom in 68 AD.
l. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His
Glory...." In Egypt, we beheld His Glory since the year 61
AD^1 , when St. Mark came to proclaim the Gospel in
obedience to the Holy Spirit.
To Christians all the world over, St. Mark is the
writer of one of the Gospels, but to us in Egypt, he is the
bearer of Good News, the Founder of the Church, and the
first Patriarch of Alexandria. St. Mark was born in Cyrene,
of parents who were righteous, God-fearing and wealthy.
While yet in his early childhood, nomad tribes invaded the
region of his home town. They robbed and pillaged the
whole place, carrying away with them all they could of herd
and valuables. Mark's parents suffered the loss of most of
their possessions, and so migrated to Jerusalem, where Mark
was brought up. Little did they realise that this move
brought them to where the Christ lived and taught, and that
through contact with Him, their son was destined to become
a Bearer of the Light.
- St. Mark was one of the seventy chosen by our Lord^2
and is the man designated by the Christ as the one at whose